Anger against President Ricardo Martinelli's administration boiled over on Jan. 30, as members
of the Gnäbe‐Buglé indigenous tribe protested after the Asamblea Nacional (AN) took initial
steps toward lifting a mining moratorium on their territories. The Coordinadora por la Defensa de los Recursos Naturales y el Derecho del Pueblo Gnäbe‐
Buglé, which has called for all mining and hydroelectric projects on indigenous lands to be
halted, decided to block a stretch of the Inter‐American Highway that joins Panama’s western
province of Chiriquí with Costa Rica. The next day, the protest had spread to the provinces of
Boca del Toro and Chiriquí, 369 km west of Panama City, and sections of the road running
through Veraguas province.